Thornton takes Commonwealth bronze in Tashkent

Tenishia Thornton won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth section 55kg category at the IWF World Championships currently being held in Tashkent.

The competition is being held in conjunction with the IWF Commonwealth Senior Championships and is an important Commonwealth Games qualification meet for these athletes.

Thornton managed to outrank weightlifters from fellow Commonwealth countries such as Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ghana. She also managed to finish ahead of athletes who participated in the World Championships including one from Denmark and Albania.

Thornton competed in the 55kg group and lifted 71kg and 73kg in her first two attempts in snatch.

In the Clean and Jerk section, she managed lifts of 86kg and 89kg.

These results enabled her to finish in third place in the Commonwealth Championships behind lifters from Nigeria and India.

Thornton’s final snatch attempt and her overall total of 162kg are also new national records. 

Thornton was the only youth athlete participating in this group and managed to strengthen her qualification result for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The young lifter has already secured a qualification result with her 159kg total in the 49kg weight category when she competed in the European Championships back in April this year.

Anton Micallef is the next Maltese lifter to compete in these championships when he is in action on Saturday in the 81kg category.

Yazmin Zammit Stevens (64kg) will be in action on Sunday while Roberta Tabone (71kg) is scheduled to take part on Monday.